Welcome to a different type of cold water activity!

< onLoad="timerONE=window.setTimeout('scrollit_r2l(100)',500);" BGCOLOR="#0066FF" BACKGROUND="http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manateebg.gif" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" ALINK="00FF00" VLINK="#ff0000" > <SCRIPT Language="Javascript"> </SCRIPT><H1 ALIGN=CENTER>Snorkeling with Manatees</H1> <BR><H2 ALIGN=CENTER>by</H2> <H3 ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF = "http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/1364">Canidlover</A> & Mr. Scuba</H3> <P ALIGN=center><A HREF="http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manatee.html" Target="_top">[Non- Frames Version]</A> This page Best Viewed with the <I>Browser of your </I> Choice! <CENTER><IMG src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manateeline.gif" ALT="Manatee Line"></CENTER> <table align=left border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><IMG ALIGN=TOP WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=109 src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manatee.gif" ALT="Manatee Photo"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee photograph</I></FONT></TR></TABLE> <P ALIGN=LEFT>It's an easy snorkel trip; don't bother with the dive stuff. You will see divers because there is a spring in the middle of the bay, and quite often the dive shops do check-out dives there. However, there usually aren't any Manatees in that area (it's too crowded and Manatees don't like the bubbles; divers are not allowed into their sanctuary, under punishment of a $10,000 fine and confiscation of dive boat and/or equipment!). <P ALIGN=LEFT>We strongly emphasize - GO IN THE MORNING!! People who are on vacation, party hearty through the night, and then get into the water at 1:00 p.m. <STRONG>do not see Manatees</STRONG> - they see other people looking for Manatees!! <table align=right border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><A href="http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manateeqt.mov"><IMG ALIGN=TOP src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manateemov.gif" ALT="Manatee QuickTime Movie"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee QuickTimeª Movie<BR>995k</I> or <I><a href= "http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manatee.mp3"> MPEG 2,083k<a></I></FONT></TR></TABLE> In fact, from our room on the Bay last year, on any afternoon you could have walked across the Spring stepping on the backs of the people floating around, looking for Manatees. <table align=right border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><IMG ALIGN=TOP src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manatee3.gif" ALT="Manatee Photo"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee photograph</I></FONT></TR></TABLE> <P ALIGN=LEFT>The water's "cold" - it is, after all, a spring. Keep in mind Manatees are best found on the coldest of days, so consider taking a thermos of coffee or cocoa with you. It tastes great while shivering in a cold wetsuit after a swim. To help keep warm we wear dive skins, and a wet suit (not a real thick one - a 3mm one like we usually wear for snorkeling). Also a hood (very important). Remember, though, that you aren't doing a lot of moving around, and the temperature is about 72 to 75 degrees - warm for the Manatees, but not for our 98-degree bodies!! (This year wet suit rentals were $12.00 a half day.) In fact, while snorkeling with the Manatees, we do a little 'power swimming', just to keep the blood moving and get a little warm.<BR><P> <table align=left border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><IMG ALIGN=TOP WIDTH=116 HEIGHT=88 src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manateebreath.jpg" ALT="Manatee Photo"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee photograph</I></FONT></TR></TABLE> <P ALIGN=LEFT>Whatever you do, don't let anyone in your party <STRONG>scream</STRONG> when the Manatees arrive!! This happened in our first trip, and the Manatees left (they can swim fast for short distances) - we were pretty ticked off at the screamer, as you can imagine! It also happened again this year with a family who tried to get their younger ones in close to the Manatee. If you have young kids, or teenage girls, explain to them that Manatees do not think screaming a "cool" way to express your excitement. They become frightend, and probably stressed. <P ALIGN=LEFT>Dive tours - <I>Port Paradise</I>Êquit doing tours, so <I>Plantation Inn Marina</I>Êis a good choice. This opperation is run by Sam and Sue Lyon. You can take a tour with them, which I would recommend if this is your first time there - if you don't know where to go, and what to look for, and what to watch out for (like the DNR Agent who lives right on the water and can confiscate your boat and equipment if you do anything s/he perceives as harassing the Manatees) - you could waste quite a bit of money. We were in someone else's video last year, and bought a copy for $15.00 - it's wonderful!! This year, for about $60.00, we had our own video made by Kenneth L. Cross from <I>Plantation Inn Marina</I>. (If others from your boat/group purchase a copy the cost goes down!) With a time and skill I may be able to post a QuickTime movie from the video soon. A tour is about $16.00 per person without a video or gear rental. If you use these people, please mention that you read about them on my page and say hello from Mr. Scuba. Other tour groups in the area are <I>American Pro Dive,</I> and <I>Bird's Underwater.</I> This year we rented a boat from <I>Port Paradise</I>Ê and went out on our own to find Manatees. <a href="http://pages.zoomnet.net/~mwlewis/pool.html">Read about another</a> Manatee lover's experience.<BR><P> <table align=right border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><IMG ALIGN=TOP WIDTH=102 HEIGHT=148 src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manateegraze.jpg" ALT="Manatee Photo"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee photograph</I></FONT></TR></TABLE> <P ALIGN=LEFT>Places to stay - both <I>Port Paradise</I>Ê(904-795-3111) and <I>Plantation Inn</I>Ê(904-795-5797) offer accommodations. However, <I>Port Paradise</I>Êis located right on King's Bay, for whatever that-s worth. In fact, if it were allowed, you could walk out of your room, jump into the water, and swim to where the Manatees are. This is, however, a no-no. This year we were very disappointed in the way the resort has deteriorated. I hear the locals are now referring to this place as <I>"Port Parasite".</I> We had a ground floor room that had been flooded (apparently all of them were flooded in August) and not properly repaired. There was a moldy miasma in the bedroom, and no windows that could be opened. Fortunately we were able to open a screen porch, and found that if you kept the door to the bedroom closed and slept in the living room on a foldout bed, the conditions were bearable. We had some friends who had a second floor room that was not smelly, but there was much neglect evident everywhere you looked. The view from their room was marred by overlooking an almost-empty, scum-filled pool. Next year we will be staying elsewhere. We thought <I>Plantation Inn</I>Êlooked good, too, but it's on a canal, and more geared for golfers. I don't know the rates at either place - I'm sure when we go at Thanksgiving it's higher than if you can go "out of season". <P> <H4 ALIGN=CENTER>After your swim - what else is there to do in the area?</H4> <table align=left border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><IMG ALIGN=TOP WIDTH=91 HEIGHT=95 src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/manatee1.jpg" ALT="Manatee Photo"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee photograph</I></FONT></TR></TABLE> <P ALIGN=LEFT>Crystal River - has some nice shops and restaurants. This year there was another plus for all you CyberDivers. That's right - a <I>CyberSurf C@fe</i> on Hywy 19 just north of the turn off to <I>Plantation Inn Marina,</I> on the East side of the road, where we stopped and had some capuccino while reading our e-mail. The on-line cost was $6.00 per hour, billed in half hour increments. Their browser was InterNet Explorer, and I'm not sure what kind of e-mail service they had. As the owner didn't think it was possible to do this, you will have to know your ISP provider's Domain Name and, of course, your username and password. If you have ever configured mail at home, you certainly can do it anywhere else. If that sounds too intimidating for you there is a simpler solution. Register with <A HREF="http://hotmail.com"> HoTMail</A> a free WWW e-mail service! You can access it from any browser, and keep you own address book too. We didn't plan ahead, but now you can! Put your address book on a disk, or convert it to HTML and put it on a separate non-linkable web page (one only you know about), and you can also send <A HREF="http://www.all-yours.net/postcard/start.shtml">Cyber postcards</A> from Florida. You are welcome to use one of my Manatee photo's as a custom picture if you include a credit line somewhere on your card. If you do stop in at the <I>C@fe</I> (open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday- Saturday), be sure and tell them hello from Mr. Scuba. <P ALIGN=LEFT>Homassassa Springs - a must if you're a Manatee and other animal lover. This is now a State Park, and it has a wonderful glass-walled room that is underwater. Basically, you're in the aquarium and the fish and Manatees are looking in at you. You can hear Manatees "talk" (the telephones are on the inside wall), which I never knew they did. On my next day swim, I heard them communicate to each other, which was great. Manatees don't have as much to say as dolphins do, but they're fun to hear. They have a "Manatee feed/show/lecture" every hour or so, which is fascinating. There are also lots of other animals to see (crocodiles, hippo, cranes, flamingos, etc., etc), a boat ride into and through the park (even if it's a longer line for this than for the trolley, IT'S WORTH IT!! The trolley can be taken back to the parking lot). The state no longer allows captive breeding of Manatees (the calves take too long to wean and then are imprinted on people so they can't survive in the wild), but they have several females here in the river and they are very visible. <P ALIGN=LEFT>Weekie Wachi Springs - a very "hokey" show, which I thought I'd hate, but I loved it! It's fun to see the spring from underneath, and then watch the show (last year, appropriately enough, "The Little Mermaid") take place IN the spring (air hoses are provided for the actors), while fish swim in front of the windows between the stage and the actors. Again, a boat ride through the park, and lots of animals. This is very much our thing, although it might not be yours! <table align=right border=6 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0><tr><td><IMG ALIGN=TOP WIDTH=113 HEIGHT=100 src="//www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/sladbar.jpg" ALT="Manatee Photo"><tr><td align=center><font size=3><I>Manatee photograph</I></FONT></TR></TABLE> <P ALIGN=LEFT>We arrive in Tampa on Thanksgiving (Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is the worst time to be in airports, so we leave early in the morning), rent a car and drive to Crystal River (take Highway 75 - Highway 19 is a real bear because of all the stores, stop signs, etc., etc.). In Tampa, there is Busch Gardens (more animals, but rides, too). There is, of course, lots of shopping (Tampa and Clearwater and all those cities are pretty nice). Also, if you're into it like we are, Western Dancing places. <P ALIGN=LEFT>Whether you drive or fly, there are brochures all over the airports and at most rest areas along the highway. There is so much to do in Florida for nature lovers. Don't forget Sanibel Island and its shells and shell museum; Museum of Florida at Bradenton has Snooty the Manatee, who was rescued when he was six months old and is now reaching 30 years of age (and just got a new tank last year); the beach in Venice has fossilized sharks ' teeth that you can pick up by just walking out in the water (the big ones you have to dive for). This whole area (Tampa, not Crystal River) has lots of nice restaurants and shops. Also golf. <P ALIGN=LEFT>If you go to the East Coast, West Palm Beach is excellent for drift diving. In the Ocala area, there are springs to dive in. Silver Springs has other things to do more boat rides, animals, etc. St. Augustine is a wonderful city, too!! <P><BR><H4 ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/photogal6.html">More Photographs</A></H4><BR><P><H4 ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="http://www.objectlinks.com/manatee/">More Manatee Facts and information</A></H4><br><I>All diving images © Neal Skrenes 1996. Please do not use without permission.</I><BR>Technical notes: See the notes on Mr.Scuba's <A HREF ="http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/4385/interests.html">Other Interests page.</a> ></frames></HTML>